Paved With Gold
Brightest Shine, Gold or Diamond? Three great kings found this country a century ago... A shining sun reached a golden Pyramid tip shrouding half a country in shade. Outside, hundreds, if not thousands of slaves pushed and pull massive blocks of gold and stone throughout. Massive statues glared downwards upon struggling humans, adding both pressure and weight. Slaves felt his golden gaze. Nowhere was safe. Guards ripped weak flesh with powerful whips. And broke souls with harsh words. Women, children and men, spare no one. Every great empire had a powerful workforce. Guards marched, stepping to songs of hardships. "Quit singing! Work!" They roared. But lands in which the sun kissed, experienced prosperity. Noblemen rode carriages of gold, diamonds and rubies. Children sung heavenly notes and women laughed at unfaithful gossip. Merchants sold a variety of rare items. Ancient items long forgotten brought to light. Guards relaxed, some slept, others drunk. And elders laughed with their future generations. From within a curtain room, a young adult walked barefoot towards an open balcony. Tigers pacing around his beautiful body. Black cut shirt and unique pants. "My lord come back to bed." A deep voice called from within pink curtains. But when he went ignored, strong arms wrapped around the young Kage. "It's dangerous for you to be out here." Fumetsu laughed. "Go, leave me at once, you served your purpose." Hands rested against his cheeks as his love toy left. …Is Paved with Good Intentions Thunder roared loudly in Kumogakure, coinciding with Yoru Uchiha shutting the door to the Raikage's office… "You wished to see me, Lord Raikage?" Yoru asked, smiling respectfully at the Raikage. "Yes, I did, Yoru. Have a seat," the Raikage replied, gesturing towards the chair facing opposite his desk. Yoru obliged, sitting down in the chair as the Raikage took his own seat. "As you've probably assumed, you've become one of my most trusted elite Jōnin, and as such, I have…a special assignment for you." "Anything, Lord Raikage." "I want you to travel as a peace emissary to Yokugakure no Sato," the Raikage explained. "With all due respect, Lord Raikage," Yoru replied, after considering carefully, "why would you send someone like me to be a diplomat? I'm not well-versed in social norms, and I'm not that great at interacting with people. They find me…obnoxious. I'm more comfortable as an intelligence specialist, or an assassin, or straight up combatant. I presume there's an ulterior motive for your selection of me for this mission?" I'm the village's go-to reconnaissance man… I'm certain that this is why I've been chosen, but I want to hear it specifically, he thought. "Astute as usual; no doubt it's why I put my faith in you," the Raikage sighed. "Here it is. Yokugakure is the wild card of shinobi villages, and nobody really knows much about it. Despite this, it has become as wealthy as one of the Five Great Nations, and as such, it is commanding more respect on an international level. I need my most brilliant reconnoiter to formulate a general description of the village. I want an analysis of its governmental structure, its military strength, the geography and layout of the village." "A brief synopsis, then, sir?" "Absolutely." The Raikage silently regarded Yoru for a moment, and then spoke. "I need you at your best, Yoru. This village is hostile to outsiders, and it took all of my diplomatic power to get it to allow me to send a peace emissary." "I understand, Lord Raikage. I won't let you down." "Good, because you leave in two days. It'll take two days just to travel there." Four days later, Yoru is walking through the streets of Yokugakure no Sato, gazing up at the clear, blue sky and bright, shining sun… He took a deep breath, keenly observing the sights. He was both impressed and disgusted at the huge, dazzling golden pyramid in the center of the village. He admired the beautiful architecture, regarding it as aesthetically stunning, but what got under his skin was the rather sharp contrast between the pyramid and the small residences of the local villagers. To Yoru, it was a sure sign of economic disparity, and he guessed that most of the country's vast wealth was in the possession of a small number of local elites. He supposed it wasn't too different to his own native Kumogakure in that respect. As he stood observing the village, a young Yokugakure shinobi walked up to him. "Excuse me, sir," he said politely, "are you Yoru Uchiha, the ambassador from Kumogakure no Sato?" "I am," Yoru replied. "Very well! Please follow me!" The young Uchiha obliged, letting the local shinobi lead the way. As they walked, he noticed things that made his blood absolutely boil with rage. Overseers were whipping slaves, yelling at them, pushing them to toil ever harder. An outraged Yoru bit his tongue upon seeing that not only were the slaves comprised of men, they also included women and children. I…am going to absolutely raise hell with whoever is in charge of this sick caricature of a society… he thought furiously, nearly trembling with anger. Lord Inzei sat at a diamond encrusted table drinking from a cup worth more than life itself. Gold, with specific jewels of rare colors. it tasted absolutely disgusting. "Yuck!" He tossed it over his shoulder. A loud clattering crash mixed with broken glass. "Maid," "Y-y-yes my lord?" A young girl bowed. "Clean that up." She hopped to it, not wasting time with confirmation. Meanwhile, an older gentleman bent to Lord Inzei's ear. "My lord, you do know that with your little tantrum, that species of herb is now officially extinct." An arm smacked his adviser. "Sounds like the plant's problem. Now where is this Uchiha?! I have more attention grabbing," He bit his lip towards a service boy bending over. He claimed him many times, but still....Everything belonged to him. "matters to deal with." "Good because he is here." His adviser opened massive golden doors printed with The Three Kings. This room sat on the second to highest floor right under Fumetsu's personal chambers. An Eventful First Encounter If Yoru had thought the opulence of the outside of the pyramid was loathsome, he was in for a big surprise upon entering the building… The inside of the pyramid was…palatial. That was the only word for it. Decorated with expensive antiques, rugs, and other ridiculously decadent adornments. It was as if the entire pyramid, inside and out, was designed for royalty, or someone who fancied themselves royalty. It absolutely astonished Yoru. Upon being told that this pyramid housed the Yokukage, the village's leader, Yoru thought to himself, How typical. A member of the ruling class gets to relish in this lavish display of wealth, while the people "beneath" him suffer, giving their own blood, sweat, and toil to maintain the system that allows elites like this ruler to accumulate wealth. Upon being led to an ornately decorated office, Yoru was directed to have a seat, assured by his guide that the Yokukage would attend to him shortly. As he sat there, Yoru ran his hand through his hair, getting lost in thought. He couldn't get those poor slaves off of his mind. He felt so terrible for them, and he wanted desperately to help them somehow. The naïve side of him wanted him to believe that if he called out this village's ruler, he could change things for the people, but his reasonable side knew he wouldn't. After all, he knew that the ruler himself, the Yokukage, was probably to blame for the plight of the masses. Yoru still planned to talk to him about it and gauge the situation. After that, he would go from there. Yoru had really taken notice of the social ills caused by poverty and economic equality as a child. He had loathed it ever since then, desiring nothing more than to completely wipe out the class system, ensuring that nobody was poor. He couldn't believe that those belonging to the upper class had gotten there because they deserved it. He recognized that some of the elite were actually honest, decent people, but from what he'd observed, most of them made their money off the backs of people from lower social classes. He recalled walking through the streets with his father as a child in Kumogakure. They had been going to buy things that were needed around the house, and the young Yoru noticed a desolate, grimy man rummaging through a trash can in an alleyway. "Daddy, why is that man going through the trash like that?" the innocent, wide-eyed child had asked. His father had glanced at the man and said, "Son, he's not as fortunate as we are. He doesn't have a home, or money, and can't get the things he needs to live without either stealing or going through trash, hoping to find something useful." "That's really sad," Yoru had replied, looking down. "It really his," his father had replied bitterly. "It isn't right." Suddenly, the door to the office opened, snapping Yoru out of his flashback. Tigers emerged from two gigantic golden mirrors. Each wearing jewelry capable of buying a thousand slaves. Their growls and roars shaking the earth itself. Their claws had been covered in gold as well, shining bright in sunlight. His tigers circled Yoru, carefully examining him. These pampered beast emitted an aura of absolute power. Only gods could tame them. Merchants and guards surrounded Yoru...Although a futile attempt to stop assassination; Fumetsu could drown armies. Still, they needed to make sure all went well. Fumetsu controlled all markets. Every decision, every choice went back to him. Whispers filled the hall... Fumetsu received word of the Raikage's quest to gain an undying ally. With Yokugakure by their side, Kumogakure could win almost any war. But Fumetsu was not some cheap whore. To win him over required something more. He could buy anything and everything. he owned the sun and moon, stars and above. Nothing escaped his grasp. Without him, life ended. So what could HE offer Fumetsu. Fumetsu's golden robes dragged upon shining floors. In absolute quiet, his golden headband shined bright. Revealing a rainbow of colors. "Kuna and Luna, Heel!" His special vocal powers withdrew his pets. They sat near his seat, which he followed with. Fumetsu's golden eyes scanned Yoru. "The Raikage sends me quite, the welcoming gift," His slaves rushed to pull out his chair as he sat. Beaten and bloodied they managed to smile. "What is it you want child?" Art of Diplomacy (Sic) Yoru watched as the Yokukage entered the room, flanked by his tigers… Raising an eyebrow, the young Uchiha folded his arms, activating his Sharingan. He gazed into the eyes of each tiger distrustfully, daring them to attack him. "I don't much like tigers," he stated with a sigh, tossing his golden hair effortlessly. "Yet, I like other big cats. What a paradox. At any rate… I say we get down to business." He sized the young man up, noting his features to be quite aesthetically pleasing. Yet there was something about the young man, something Yoru wasn't quite sure he trusted. "I am Yoru Uchiha, of the Hidden Cloud, as I'm sure you're aware. I'm not much of a diplomat, and I don't presume you to be unintelligent, given your status, so I'm going to cut to the chase." He paused to take off his trademark hoodie, tucking it under his left arm. He was simply too warm for it to be comfortable. Yoru stretched, then resumed talking. "The Raikage has sent me here to establish an alliance between our villages. I'm sure this isn't news, you probably assumed as much when you were asked to allow me to travel here. Kumogakure could use this village's economic might," he continued, "and Yokugakure could benefit from Kumogakure's military might. We are, after all, the strongest military force in the ninja world. It would be a fruitful alliance." The entire he talked, Yoru scanned the young Yokukage's face for reactions, but found him difficult to read. "What say you…Lord Yokukage?" Fumetsu observed this child's red eyes and felt a fire in his stomach...One long lost since his younger lover's death. Deep inside his mind he thought he witnessed a vision standing over Yoru. One of a great hero holding this young Prince in his arms. But Fumetsu witnessed many Uchiha like him. Men who thought the world of their eyes...But in all honesty lacked true power...Money. "Little cats, Big cats, makes no difference to me. But I prefer them....Nice, and big." Fumetsu said seductively, nibbling on his finger as he crawled upon his golden table. When close to Yoru, Fumetsu turned and sat in front of Yoru. A slender muscular build with crossed legs. His medium long black hair with a long segmented pony-tail which stretched down to his ankles. Red ring eyes piercing Yoru's soul. He bore purple makeup on his eyes that faded towards the inner portion of his eyelids. As usual, Fumetsu wore his usual Indian chunnari around his neck with a small, short sleeved black choli which revealed his perfected midriff under it. An Indian like leg dress, that stopped at his ankles, with no shoes. Golden bangled bracelets that extended from his elbows to his wrists and a golden bangled necklace with a ruby in the center shined in sunlight. "Yes, Yes...A strong military...But I don't need such a trivial offer. I mean, I wonder," Fumetsu held his hand out and closed it. Turning it sideways, golden dust slowly fell from his palms. "How long it would take for me to buy out every single member in your pathetic army." A servant girl brought to him a cup of tea, which he spat out. "You stupid whore!!! I do not like this herb!" He drew a Kunai and aimed it towards her stomach. Not to kill but to maim..See, she had been impregnated. And a little lump had been visible. But he froze right before stabbing her unborn child. "On second thought, I am in the mood for it. Bring me another cup." The women, in near tears scurried off. She had been treated fine by Fumetsu. He took care of all his slaves.. However he did provide a large amount of torture. "I'm sorry Uchiha..These filth are becoming more and more defiant. You were saying?" Yoru watched the golden dust spill through the Yokukage's hands, utterly fascinated… He shook his head at the young man's comment about buying out Kumogakure's ninja forces. "You would never buy us all out," he replied. "The overwhelming majority of us would give our lives rather than betray our village and comrades. Oh, and the scum that could be bought out? We'd dispose of them rather, erm, quickly." Yoru had personally dealt with traitorous shinobi, he had also seen files detailing the assassination of such turncoats. Their fates were never anything but excruciatingly painful deaths. Kumogakure took treachery seriously. Yoru watched the way the Yokukage treated his servant girl with disgust. Suddenly, the plight of the local villagers made sense. As he had assumed, it was probably due to the Yokukage simply not caring about the people. "Why would you talk to another person like that?" he asked, trying to contain the rage in his voice. "That's just not right. Also, I couldn't help but notice the slaves and their overseers throughout the village. As the one who is responsible for the village and the well-being of its people, how can you allow this?"